To “Sketch-a-Scratch”

A surface can be harsh and raspy, or smooth and silky, and everything in between. We are used to sense these features with our fingertips as well as with our eyes and ears: the exploration of a surface is a multisensory experience. Tools, too, are often employed in the interaction with surfaces, since they augment our manipulation capabilities. “Sketch-a-Scratch” is a tool for the multisensory exploration and sketching of surface textures. The user’s actions drive a physical sound model of real materials’ response to interactions such as scraping, rubbing or rolling. Moreover, different input signals can be converted into 2D visual surface profiles, thus enabling to experience them visually, aurally and haptically

Tangible user interfaces : past, present and future directions

In the last two decades, Tangible User Interfaces (TUIs) have emerged as a new interface type that interlinks the digital and physical worlds. Drawing upon users' knowledge and skills of interaction with the real non-digital world, TUIs show a potential to enhance the way in which people interact with and leverage digital information. However, TUI research is still in its infancy and extensive research is required in or- der to fully understand the implications of tangible user interfaces, to develop technologies that further bridge the digital and the physical, and to guide TUI design with empirical knowledge. This paper examines the existing body of work on Tangible User In- terfaces. We start by sketching the history of tangible user interfaces, examining the intellectual origins of this field. We then present TUIs in a broader context, survey application domains, and review frame- works and taxonomies. We also discuss conceptual foundations of TUIs including perspectives from cognitive sciences, phycology, and philoso- phy. Methods and technologies for designing, building, and evaluating TUIs are also addressed. Finally, we discuss the strengths and limita- tions of TUIs and chart directions for future research

Ubicorder: A mobile device for situated interactions with sensor networks

The Ubicorder is a mobile, location and orientation aware device for browsing and interacting with real-time sensor network data. In addition to browsing data, the Ubicorder also provides a graphical user interface (GUI) that users can use to define inference rules. These inference rules detect sensor data patterns, and translate them to higher-order events. Rules can also be recursively combined to form an expressive and robust vocabulary for detecting real-world phenomena, thus enabling users to script higher level and relevant responses to distributed sensor stimuli. The Ubicorder’s mobile, handheld form-factor enables users to easily bring the device to the phenomena of interest, hence simultaneously observe or cause real-world stimuli and manipulate in-situ the event detection rules easily using its graphical interface. In a first-use user study, participants without any prior sensor network experience rated the Ubicorder highly for its usefulness and usability when interacting with a sensor network.Things That Think Consortiu

An Introduction to 3D User Interface Design

3D user interface design is a critical component of any virtual environment (VE) application. In this paper, we present a broad overview of three-dimensional (3D) interaction and user interfaces. We discuss the effect of common VE hardware devices on user interaction, as well as interaction techniques for generic 3D tasks and the use of traditional two-dimensional interaction styles in 3D environments. We divide most user interaction tasks into three categories: navigation, selection/manipulation, and system control. Throughout the paper, our focus is on presenting not only the available techniques, but also practical guidelines for 3D interaction design and widely held myths. Finally, we briefly discuss two approaches to 3D interaction design, and some example applications with complex 3D interaction requirements. We also present an annotated online bibliography as a reference companion to this article

Modified gravity revealed along geodesic tracks

The study of the dynamics of a two-body system in modified gravity constitutes a more complex problem than in Newtonian gravity. Numerical methods are typically needed to solve the equations of geodesics. Despite the complexity of the problem, the study of a two-body system in $f(R)$ gravity leads to a new exciting perspective hinting the right strategy to adopt in order to probe modified gravity. Our results point out some differences between the {\em semiclassical} (Newtonian) approach, and the {\em relativistic} (geodesic) one thus suggesting that the latter represents the best strategy for future tests of modified theories of gravity. { Finally, we have also highlighted the capability of forthcoming observations to serve as smoking gun of modified gravity revealing a departure from GR or further reducing the parameter space of $f(R)$ gravity}. \keywords{$f(R)$ gravity \and binary system \and geodesics \and precessionComment: 7 Pages, 2 figures. Accepted for publication on The European Physics Journal

Towards a framework for investigating tangible environments for learning

External representations have been shown to play a key role in mediating cognition. Tangible environments offer the opportunity for novel representational formats and combinations, potentially increasing representational power for supporting learning. However, we currently know little about the specific learning benefits of tangible environments, and have no established framework within which to analyse the ways that external representations work in tangible environments to support learning. Taking external representation as the central focus, this paper proposes a framework for investigating the effect of tangible technologies on interaction and cognition. Key artefact-action-representation relationships are identified, and classified to form a structure for investigating the differential cognitive effects of these features. An example scenario from our current research is presented to illustrate how the framework can be used as a method for investigating the effectiveness of differential designs for supporting science learning

16th Sound and Music Computing Conference SMC 2019 (28–31 May 2019, Malaga, Spain)

The 16th Sound and Music Computing Conference (SMC 2019) took place in Malaga, Spain, 28-31 May 2019 and it was organized by the Application of Information and Communication Technologies Research group (ATIC) of the University of Malaga (UMA). The SMC 2019 associated Summer School took place 25-28 May 2019. The First International Day of Women in Inclusive Engineering, Sound and Music Computing Research (WiSMC 2019) took place on 28 May 2019. The SMC 2019 TOPICS OF INTEREST included a wide selection of topics related to acoustics, psychoacoustics, music, technology for music, audio analysis, musicology, sonification, music games, machine learning, serious games, immersive audio, sound synthesis, etc

INTERACTIVE PHYSICAL DESIGN AND HAPTIC PLAYING OF VIRTUAL MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS

International audienceIn Computer Music, a practical approach of many Digital Musical Instruments is to separate the gestural input stage from the sound synthesis stage. While these instruments offer many creative possibilities, they present a strong rupture with traditional acoustic instruments, as the physical coupling between human and sound is broken. This coupling plays a crucial role for the expressive musical playing of acoustic instruments; we believe restoring it in a digital context is of equal importance for revealing the full expressive potential of digital instruments. This paper first presents haptic and physical modelling technologies for representing the mechano-acoustical instrumental situation in the context of DMIs. From these technologies, a prototype environment has been implemented for both designing virtual musical instruments and interacting with them via a force feedback device, able to preserve the energetic coherency of the musician-sound chain

To ‘Sketch-a-Scratch’

A surface can be harsh and raspy, or smooth and silky, and everything in between. We are used to sense these features with our fingertips as well as with our eyes and ears: the exploration of a surface is a multisensory experience. Tools, too, are often employed in the interaction with surfaces, since they augment our manipulation capabilities. “Sketch-a-Scratch” is a tool for the multisensory exploration and sketching of surface textures. The user’s actions drive a physical sound model of real materials’ response to interactions such as scraping, rubbing or rolling. Moreover, different input signals can be converted into 2D visual surface profiles, thus enabling to experience them visually, aurally and haptically